Katherine Heigl: "Am I [Really] Like This?" The State of Affairs Star on Those Rumors of Being Difficult and More in Our Interview With Her

If you're an actor, putting your quotes in an interviewer's hands is a leap of faith. You have no control how they are going to spin your words, and the actor has no idea if something that sounds perfectly fine ends up looking not so good in print. In Katherine Heigl's case, it's amazing she's still willing to do media at all. After declaring that she didn't submit herself on the Emmy ballot because she wasn't given enough good material to warrant a nomination in 2008, the unfiltered star fairly (or unfairly) faced an onslaught of media attention. And it didn't end there. No matter what Heigl says, it seems her words come back to haunt her.

As far as I'm concerned, the statuesque beauty has gotten the raw end of the deal. We pick up magazine stories hoping for candid interviews from our favorite stars. So when a star does open up and speak from the heart? Well, you can't win either way. Of course, in Heigl's case, the issue has been more than whether or not she's too honest. It's, "Is she difficult to work with?" Well, let me tell you guys something: Many actors in Hollywood are difficult to work with, and many are difficult to interview. No one is happy and easy-going all the time, but no one (well, at least most) is always difficult.

The question of being difficult was brought up to Heigl at Sunday's Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, where Heigl was promoting her new NBC political drama, State of Affairs (which is one of my favorite new dramas of the fall season). Prior to the State of Affairs panel, NBC executives answered questions relating to Heigl's mother's involvement in the show and if that was an annoyance (Katherine's mother, Nancy Heigl, is a producer). Sure, you don't see many mother-daughter duos producing TV shows, but in this case, it's no surprise. The Heigls have been working together for years. If someone has an eye for good material, how is that any different from the writing teams on shows that aren't related?

When Heigl took the stage during her panel, she had to address not only her "difficult" reputation but working with her mother: "I can only say that I certainly don't see myself as being difficult. I would never intend to be difficult. I don't think my mother sees herself as being difficult. It's important for everybody to conduct themselves professionally and respectfully and kindly. So if I have ever disappointed somebody, it was never intentional."

Katherine with NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke and State of Affairs costar Alfre Woodard.

I had some one-on-one time with Katherine before the panel (FYI: She goes by Katherine professionally, "while everybody else calls me Katie") and found her truly delightful. She was vulnerable, completely devoid of any ego, and so appreciative when I told her how much I enjoyed State of Affairs. Read on:

Glamour: You’ve been in this industry for a long time. With that comes highs and lows, and you've faced your share of adversity. What have those difficult times taught you?Katherine Heigl: With time comes perspective and wisdom, and I will never tell a young actress "don’t feel it," because of course you will. But I would say, when you do, give yourself one permission to be hurt and be sad, but then get back up and spend time with people that you know love you no matter what, unconditionally so. That reminds you of who you are because it gets a little sticky at times. When everyone has a universal opinion of you, you start to wonder, Am I like this? Am I crazy? So when you do spend time with the people that love you and are reminded, "Oh yeah, they wouldn’t love me like this if I was that person, if I did behave that way," then I can re-bolster my spirits.

Glamour: I love that, and it's so true. Switching gears to the new show, it is such a perfect vehicle for you. When you and your mom went in to pitch it to NBC, how did you sell it to them?Katherine Heigl: We got really lucky because we were approached by Rodney Faraon, who is an ex-CIA analyst and briefer to two presidents, and Hank Crumpton, who is an operative and wrote the Art of Intelligence and was very involved in the Bin Laden stuff. So when they started started talking to us about these stories, that’s when we went, "This is not just an interesting idea but a riveting idea and something we haven’t explored much in film or television this side of the C.I.A." Rodney was in the pitches with us, and he would say to everybody, "Think of four numbers: 52, 17, 7, and 1. $52 billion dollars a year is spent on gathering intelligence. There’s 17 intelligence agencies, and they distill all that intelligence down to seven pages that one person brings to the President." So that was our big pitch. I loved that because it shows you the gravitas, the weight, and the seriousness of this, and the level of time, energy, effort, money, and patriotism that all these people display to protect us in this country.

Glamour: Did you meet with any political figures in Washington, D.C., to discuss what they do for a living?Katherine: Not yet, but I’m hoping we’re going to D.C. at some point and going to Langley and getting to walk around, but I don’t know what it entails! Probably a huge background check and a strip search! [Laughs]

What do you guys think of Katherine Heigl, and will you be tuning in to her new show?

Photos: Paul Drinkwater/NBC; Charles Sykes/NBC; Michael Parmelee/NBC

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Jessica RadloffWest Coast entertainment writer. Always trying to make each interview more fun than the last. Obsessed with the St. Louis Cardinals, Scott Speedman, Sprinkles cupcakes--and apparently the letter S.